Prelude to Moondance
by Sophiyah
Summary: Remus and Sirius are in their last year at Hogwarts. A shadow of gloom and darkness cast by the rising Lord Voldemort is threatening their magical world, but they must figure out their love for the same classmate, Sariyah, before they can join forces to
1. Default Chapter

It was a misty August morning, and a sandy haired young man stepped out of his father's black car. The older man helped out his son, pulling out a heavy trunk from the backseat of the car and placing it carefully on a metal cart. The young man took hold of the trolley and hugged his father goodbye.  
  
"Have fun, son." said the older man happily. "Use that badge well."  
  
"I will!" said the young man. He turned and made his way towards platform 9 and 3/4, where a large group of funny looking people were gathered. One woman had a tall top hat covered in fur. She was clutching the hand of a small girl and dabbing her eyes, watching her other daughter barrel through the barrier leading to the Hogwarts Express. Another man (it was apparent) had tried to dress like a Muggle, but had failed miserably. He had a pair of long plaid pants on, and a striped shirt; he was also wearing soccer cleats as opposed to normal shoes.  
  
The young man smiled, shook his head, and edged up towards the barrier. He hadn't seen his friends all summer, due to the fact that he had spent most of it in his home, not able to leave because of the utter weakness he was feeling for most of the time. He leaned against the barrier and fell straight through to the other side. He eagerly pushed his trolley into the throngs of people built up around the large scarlet train, his gray eyes scanning the crowds for his group of friends; he stopped when he realized that someone was watching him. The man turned quickly and caught the arm of his best friend before the other could mess up his hair.  
  
The black haired boy chuckled. "You've got the reflexes of a cat, Remus."   
  
"Oh, I don't know about a cat, James." sniggered the second black haired boy standing nearby. "Wolves, maybe?"   
  
"Not so loud...I may have to give you a detention," said Remus. He scowled jokingly at his friends.   
  
"Ooh, Remus the head boy. We're going to have to be oh so very careful now!" Sirius laughed maniacally, his whole face glowing with excitement.   
  
"This is going to be amazing, our last year." sighed James. The trio stood there for a brief second, lost in their own thoughts.  
  
"It will be amazing if you three actually make it on the train without causing trouble." said a female voice. The young men turned to look at two girls, one keeping a tight hold on a cage in which a Siamese cat was hissing angrily, and the other holding a book with a lock on it.  
  
"Hi guys," said redhead, grinning, "we missed you."  
  
"Well...not really. Only a little bit." added the other girl.  
  
James laughed loudly and began his usual ranting. "Lily and Sariyah...like peanut butter and jelly or Liberace and his candlestick or-" he started.  
  
"James and Sirius?" Lily cut him off.   
  
"Yes. Like James and Sirius. And Remus." responded James.  
  
"We have to get on the train." said Remus hurriedly. He pointed to the clock; they had a minute left.  
  
The five scurried to get on the train. Sariyah accidentally banged the cage she was carrying against the side of the wall, and the cat inside let out a yelp of dismay, hissing and spitting with even more anger than before.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry sweetheart. I'll let you out in a little bit, just hold on." she whispered soothingly into the cage. The cat immediately stopped squirming and was silent.  
  
"You've got quite a knack with animals, Sar." said Remus.  
  
"Not really. Just this one. I think maybe he's an Animagus that couldn't transform back, you know? Stuck the way he is." answered Sariyah.  
  
James and Sirius looked at each other, eyes twinkling.  
  
"Why do you guys do that, all the time? Those secret looks? I mean, if you two are dating, you can just say so, honestly." laughed Sariyah.  
  
James grinned and ran his hand through his dark hair, messing it up even more. "There's only one girl for me." James draped his arm around Lily, and her ears burned bright red.  
  
Sariyah rolled her green eyes and made her way down the crowded train.   
  
"I think the head boy and girl have their own carriage thing, Remus." Sariyah said. She looked at Remus, who had been staring at her for some time now, without her noticing.  
  
"Remus?" she said.  
  
"Wha? Oh...yeah. Carriage." he mumbled.   
  
Sirius looked at Remus with a slightly suspicious glance. He brushed his suspicion aside for the time being, and slipped into the carriage behind James and Lily. He watched Remus and Sariyah's figures become smaller as they made their way to the front of the train. Lily slid the door shut and the train began its journey to Hogwarts.  
  
Remus, James and Sirius are in their last year at Hogwarts. Although shadow of gloom and darkness looms over the magical world, Remus and Sirius must face their own personal problems before battling the forces of the King of Darkness. The two friends must sort out their mutual feelings concerning a fellow classmate and become a team before a force more powerful than evil can pull them apart...a force called love. 


	2. Chapter 2

Remus and Sariyah set off for the front of the scarlet train, looking for the Head Boy and Girl compartment. Students were scurrying everywhere through the corridors of the train, and so were various animals. The Siamese cat inside of Sariyah's cage was peering out with intent blue eyes locked on a rat that a third-year was gripping tightly. Remus narrowly avoided squashing a toad that had found its way to the middle of the train.  
  
"Has anyone seen my rat?" asked a confused first-year. "He has spots and his name's Marcellus..." His large brown eyes welled up with tears.   
  
Remus paused for a moment and looked around the train.  
  
"See anything?" he asked Sariyah.  
  
"Maybe," answered Sariyah. She pulled out her wand and said "Accio Marcellus!"  
  
Nothing happened.   
  
"Well it was worth a shot," Sariyah said, shrugging her shoulders and smiling a little. She tucked her mahogany wand back into her robes, leaving her hand in the pocket for a brief second.  
  
"Marcellus!!" squeaked a happy voice. The rat had zoomed out of a small hole in the bottom of one of the compartment doors, where he had lodged himself.  
  
Remus squinted his eyes in slight confusion at Sariyah. "How did you do that?"  
  
"Do what?" she answered.  
  
"That rat came out of that hole, but not because of your wand, " he stated, looking quizzically at his friend, and at her pocket.  
  
"Of course it was my wand, Remus, don't be silly," she said, ending the subject of conversation. "We have to find that compartment, come on."   
  
She charged forward past Remus and they began making their way again towards the front of the train, Remus shaking his head in confusion.   
  
"Lupin! Khan! In here, please," said a curt female voice. Remus and Sariyah followed the short witch into a compartment which was different from all the others, with a golden lining around the sliding door. They entered into a dimly lit carriage, and the short witch shut the door behind them.   
  
Remus strained to see in the darkness of the train cabin, and to his disbelief, he found that he could not move more than two paces ahead without colliding with a thick wall.  
  
"Patience, Lupin, don't move so much yet," cautioned the witch, smiling in the darkness. "Take out your badges please, and put them into these slots."  
  
"Slots? What slots? I can't see anything," mumbled Sariyah. She took out her wand and muttered "Lumos". A faint glow filled the room and she found the crevices in the wall that the witch was talking about. She slid her badge into one as far as it would go. She heard a soft click and whirring sound.   
  
"Now you, Lupin," instructed the witch.  
  
He unpinned his badge and pushed it into the crevice just as Sariyah had and this time, they heard music playing, very high pitched and chime-like.   
  
Sariyah squinted her olive eyes in slight shock. "It's becoming less--less solid," she said in amazement, staring at the wall.  
  
Indeed, the wall had visibly became less solid. It was soon fully see-through, and the witch instructed them to walk through the wisp of a wall. They did so and to their utter incredulity, they found themselves in a hallway with two doors at the other end.   
  
"Now go to your respective doors, the instructions will be inside." said the little witch. She turned and went back out through the train compartment doors, leaving Sariyah and Remus there alone.   
  
"This is crazy," uttered Remus. "Just when you think you know almost everything about this world, new things keep popping up."  
  
They walked to the doors at the end of the hall, which had each side lined with a long glass aquarium that stretched all the way down the corridor. The aquarium was lighted and many colorful fish were darting around in the blue-green water among brightly colored coral. The cat in Sariyah's cage was now squirming again, eyes flashing angrily. She turned the cage towards the aquarium, and immediately the cat was silent, watching the fish and aquarium as intently as Remus and Sariyah were.   
  
They moved slowly towards the doors at the end of the hall. Upon reaching them, they found that they had been labeled with their names in loopy golden letters. They looked at each other one last time and entered their respective rooms.  
  
Remus opened the door to his room and carefully stepped inside. He shut the door behind him and suddenly the lights flickered on, one by one, every second. He was shocked to find a fully furnished room with two armchairs, a king-sized bed, a desk, a closet, and a bathroom. His trunk was at the foot of the bed, which was covered in deep red comforters and four gold pillows. He smiled to himself at the color choice in the room, where everything was scarlet and gold, Gryffindor colors. He looked at the desk, where a basket (full of everything from fruits to sandwiches to chocolate frogs) was sitting beside an envelope addressed to him, and near the envelope, his Head Boy badge.  
  
He picked up the envelope and opened it. It was a letter from Headmaster Dumbledore, congratulating him on becoming Head Boy, and detailing the tasks he had to partake in for the first week, and informing him that he would be required to meet with the Hogwarts staff once a month to keep them informed of the goings-on.   
  
Remus smiled to himself. This was going to be a fantastic year...apart from a few nights a month. He felt ten times better since he had arrived on the train to Hogwarts, better than he had felt the whole summer, when he had been sick nearly every day, and better since he had seen his friends again. He plopped down on the bed and shut his eyes, but found no sleep.  
  
Next door, Sariyah had found the exact same surroundings, fruit basket, letter, and her badge. There was also a litter box in the room, along with cat food cans stacked in the closet. She set the cage down on the ground and unlatched the door. A tiny nose poked out, sniffing the air cautiously. The cat then extended his head out, bright blue eyes scouring every corner of the room. Approving, he pranced out of the cage, acting like he was the new owner of the room.   
  
"You're a spoiled little thing," she cooed. She picked him up and stroked his head, and he purred as if there was a motor running inside him. "Alright, Orpheus, go on then." She let him go and he began his interrogation of the room.  
  
She sat on the armchair and massaged her head, wondering what to do now. Although the room was very nice, she would much rather have been sitting with Remus, Lily, James, Sirius and Peter in a regular carriage. She got up from the armchair and left the room to knock on Remus' door.  
  
"Hi," he greeted her, a large smile playing on his face.  
  
She grinned back and said "I'm bored."  
  
"Me too," he answered. "Let's go back."   
  
They went into their rooms, grabbed their badges, letters, and fruit baskets and went back to the cabin in which their friends were chatting animatedly. Sariyah slid the door open and she and Remus were greeted with loud cheers from their closest. They squeezed in and the fruit baskets were passed around, and conversation continued.  
  
It began getting darker outside, as the scarlet engine neared Hogwarts. The starts began twinkling. The moon, a half crescent, kept a watch over the quick moving train, as it hurried its passengers towards the inviting castle. 


	3. Chapter 3

The sorting ceremony ending with a bang...literally. The new first years in Slytherin were given quite the shock as firecrackers went off directly behind them, set off by two of Gryffindor's finest students and troublemakers. James and Sirius were thrown many a dirty look by the older Slytherin students as they quietly snuck back to their table to join their friends and fellow students.  
  
James took the empty seat beside Lily, and Sirius sat on Remus's other side. Beside Remus was Sariyah, and beside her was their close friend, Frank Longbottom, who was a year younger.  
  
"This is the last Sorting Ceremony we're ever going to be at, guys," Sariyah said. "Isn't that sad?"  
  
"Sad? Sar, this should be fun and happy, not sad. This is why we set off those fireworks, so you wouldn't be sad," Sirius asserted, grinning all the while.  
  
Sariyah knitted her eyebrows. "You know you're just making the Slytherins more mad then they usually are at us," she said.  
  
"We live to greaten the divide between BRAVE GRYFFINDOR and FOUL SLYTHERIN!!!" shouted James with glee, looking over their heads to see if anyone had noticed his absurd yelling.  
  
Sariyah gave James an impatient look and Remus only shook his head and continued his picking apart of a large piece of chicken.   
  
"So I've been hearing things," Frank Longbottom said in a low undertone, leaning forward. "My dad works at the Ministry, and apparently there's something about to go down...they're waiting for something."  
  
"What is it?" asked Sirius, leaning in.  
  
"Well, You-Know-Who has been around here, really close, you know," Frank replied, looking around cautiously to make sure no one else was listening. "But they don't know what he's going to do, exactly...they think maybe he's gathering up some sort of forces."  
  
"Forces? You mean like an army?" asked Remus intently in his soft voice.  
  
"Yeah, something like that," said Frank. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but they're being called Death Eaters."  
  
Sariyah shuddered. "What a fitting name," she muttered.  
  
"Your mom knows about this, right Sariyah?" asked Lily.  
  
"She would never tell me anything...I mean, I barely see her as it is," Sariyah answered. "I don't even know what she does, I just get periodic letters."  
  
"But they're near here? Where?" asked Peter Pettigrew, who was looking positively frightened.  
  
"Well, they don't know where, otherwise they would have gotten him, wouldn't they? But this whole gathering an army thing is a little alarming, isn't it? I mean, can you imagine how many people in this school would be ready to up and join Voldemort?" James asked, peering cautiously at the Slytherin table.  
  
"Really, James, they're not that horrible...none of them would kill anyone else...would they?" asked Lily.  
  
"That is a frightening prospect," added Remus. "But he's not doing it yet, is he? I mean he has to find loyal people that would surrender their lives to him."  
  
"So many people would give up what they have for power, Remus," Sariyah said. "It's quite a world we live in."  
  
The seven sat in silence for a moment, pondering similar thoughts. A voice broke through their thought processes.  
  
"This year's going to be different, Potter," said a drawling, sneering voice from behind James.  
  
Sariyah looked past James to see who was talking, and she was not surprised to see a tall young man with long white-blonde hair. The silver color on his green and silver patterned scarf reflected off of his narrowed gray eyes. He was accompanied by another male student with long, greasy black hair and a large hook nose.  
  
"Sod off, Malfoy," growled Frank. "You too, Snape."  
  
"I wasn't speaking to you, Longbottom," growled the young man. "Potter, you, Black and I have some business to deal with."  
  
"I haven't got any business with you, Malfoy, you git," growled Sirius, his hands clenching the table, looking like a dog bracing to attack.   
  
"The only business we'll be dealing with is your team's loss of dignity on the Quidditch pitch," James added. He was smart enough not to pick fights in the middle of the hall, but Malfoy was not.  
  
"Oh, really? We'll see about that," he snarled. He pulled out his wand and just as he was about to perform a malicious spell, the wand flew out of his hands and into Sariyah's.  
  
"That's not happening here, Lucius," Sariyah said calmly, fingering Malfoy's wand in her honey-colored hand, and giving him an even stare. Severus Snape had been watching her the entire time, as opposed to backing up his friend.  
  
"You-you didn't even say anything," Malfoy sputtered, utterly confused. "No wand, no words...he was right...you're aren't completely-" He didn't finish his sentence.   
  
Sariyah stood up furiously in a swirl of black robes, anger blazing in her green eyes. "Petrificus Totalus!" she shouted, pointing Malfoy's wand at him. Not only was he placed in a full-body bind, but he was thrown across two rows of tables, landing in a pile of mashed potatoes at the Slytherin table.   
  
Sariyah was breathing very heavily and her cheeks were a deep red color, apparently not aware of the damage she had inflicted on the Slytherin, nor on the thousand faces now staring at her.  
  
"Here, Severus," she said, thrusting Malfoy's wand at Snape. "Give that back to him when he's not in the hall, otherwise I'm going to give both of you detentions." Severus caught the wand and looked at her one last time before turning and hurrying to Malfoy.  
  
Sariyah sat down on the bench, still breathing quite heavily.   
  
Remus put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked, his gray eyes trying to make contact with hers. Sirius felt a wave of suspicion pass over him again, like in the train.  
  
"Fine," she mumbled. She picked up her fork and began finishing her dinner.   
  
"Just wait, Khan!" Malfoy shouted from across the hall, face bright red, furiously rubbing mashed potatoes off of his black robes. "You'll get what's coming to you!" Sirius felt anger rising in him and was about to get up, but Remus quickly stopped him.  
  
"It's not worth it, Sirius," he said, pulling him back down to the table.  
  
Shortly, the small witch who had led them to the Head Boy and Girl cabins on the train walked by.  
  
"Ms. Khan, I am going to assume that the action you have just taken was for some reasonable purpose?" asked the witch, staring at Sariyah sternly.  
  
"It won't happen again, Professor Nygrene," Sariyah mumbled, not making eye contact.  
  
"Malfoy taunted her, Professor, it wasn't her fault," Sirius jumped to her defense.  
  
"This better not happen again, Ms. Khan, otherwise it may mean that badge," said Professor Nygrene. Sariyah nodded, looking down at the table and her cold food.   
  
The witch sauntered away, back towards the teacher's table.  
  
"She's such a prat, that woman," growled Sirius.  
  
"I shouldn't have done that...I shouldn't have overreacted," Sariyah sighed.  
  
"It's okay, we all lose our temper from time to time, Sar," James said reassuringly. "Only I've never seen you lose it."  
  
"Well it's not going to happen again," Sariyah replied. She finished her dinner, got up from the table and left for the dormitories.  
  
They watched her leave, and so did the rest of the school...and so did the wise elder man sitting at the head table. He watched her as she exited the hall, and turned his head back to a box of candy that had materialized out of thin air. He popped a lemon drop into his mouth and smiled thoughtfully. 


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning dawned foggy with a blood red sun creeping over the horizon. Sariyah was quite awake, watching the sun rise slowly, spilling its pools of light all around the grounds of Hogwarts. She was accustomed to awaking early like this, because she had always had more than a few nights a week when she couldn't sleep at all, and last night was just such a night.  
  
She left the dormitory early, slowly treading down the common room stairs, where no one was inhabiting her favorite chair by the fire; the fire was smoldering gently in the fireplace. She tucked herself into the chair and glanced at the large clock in the common room; it read 5:30 AM. She hadn't been able to sleep since 1 AM, so she had kept herself busy doing other, quiet things so as not to wake anyone in her dorm room up. A few times she had heard their absent minded, blonde-haired fellow Gryffindor Lethe Robinson snort, and nearly awaken, but she had fallen right back asleep.   
  
Sariyah was now sitting comfortably in the large red chair, the fireplace letting off a gentle glow and great warmth, and soon found herself drifting off to sleep, fully clothed in what she planned on wearing that day for her first class at 8:00, Advanced Potions.   
  
It seemed like she had only shut her eyes for a mere ten minutes when a hand shook her shoulders softly.  
  
"Hey sleepyhead," said a voice. Sariyah opened her eyes (now bloodshot) and instead of looking at the person who had woken her up, she looked at the clock, which read 7:45. She turned her attention to the red haired girl now grinning at her, green eyes shining in the flames of the fire, which was now burning quite brightly.  
  
"Hi Lil," Sariyah mumbled through a yawn. "Thanks for waking me up."  
  
"You've missed breakfast already, just don't miss your first class," Lily chided.  
  
"Stop being such a mom," joked Sariyah. "James doesn't call you Mother Lily for no reason."  
  
"Hardee har har, Sariyah," Lily laughed. "Next time you won't be so lucky."  
  
Sariyah picked herself up and headed out of the common room with Lily towards their first class. They trudged down to the bottom of the large castle to a dark dungeon where the class was held.  
  
"Late, Evans? Khan?" asked the tall, black-haired witch who taught the class. "What would you like...to clean up afterwards or lose points for the house?" She flipped her black shiny hair and continued writing on the board.  
  
"Well?" the witch asked again, flipping her hair once more when turning back around to stare at them with her piercing blue eyes.  
  
"We'll stay after, Professor," muttered Sariyah. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, sitting a few rows back, snickered. Sariyah turned around and glared at them and before turning back she raised one finger and pointed at Malfoy. Malfoy's look changed immediately from gloating to a look that was unmistakably like that of a frightened mouse.   
  
The class passed quite uneventfully after that, and the tall, black-haired witch instructed Lily and Sariyah that they were to wipe off the blackboard and sweep the floor of the dungeon, and they did so obediently.   
  
They had to then hurry to their next class, the very popular Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was taught by their favorite professor (and the popular favorite among the female students), Professor Evander. He wasn't an excellent looking man, but he was quite handsome and had a large, fluffy brown mustache and deep blue eyes. Sariyah and Lily had developed a pattern to where they would alternate taking notes each day, because one tended to get 'lost in the lecture' as he spoke and also tended not to take notes, completely enamored by their professor.  
  
James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stumbled into class late, nearly breaking the dungeon door as they entered. Sirius shot a huge smile at Sariyah when she looked over at what the enormous clamor was being caused by They were al looking quite fiendish, and it was still very early in the day. Sirius and Remus sat down directly behind her in the back of the room, while Peter and James had to split up due to the unavailability of seats.  
  
"Okay, men...for coming in late, you're going to have to answer some questions," smiled Professor Evander at the four rascals who were finally situated in the back of the room.  
  
"Mr. Black, if you would kindly tell me the counterspell to the Tripudio curse?" asked the Professor.  
  
"The dancing curse is counteracted by Subsisto Incatatem," answered Sirius, a cocky smile lighting up his face.  
  
"Very good," nodded the professor. "Mr. Potter, if you were being chased by a giant, what spell would you use to stop it without hitting it below the neck?"  
  
"I would used the Suffoco hex...it would strangle him, and it wouldn't be below his neck," James answered without hesitation.  
  
"Excellent Potter, excellent...now Mr. Lupin, I think you've realized that the questions have been becoming harder as I progress?" asked the professor.   
  
Remus nodded, a calm smile warming his features.  
  
"Tell me then, Mr. Lupin, if you were bitten by a werewolf, how long would you have to wait for the first symptoms to appear and what would they be?" asked Professor Evander.  
  
Remus paled slightly, and James and Sirius looked at each other.   
  
"The first symptoms would be a horrible itching feeling directly under your skin, followed by mild seizures, then, finally, a full transformation," Remus answered, his voice quivering slightly. "You would have only about two hours to wait for the first symptoms, as it is a direct onset bite," he answered, his voice becoming stronger as he progressed.   
  
"Fantastic, Remus. We haven't even done werewolves yet, you seem to be about 5 weeks ahead in your reading, as I would have expected from the Head boy," said the professor quite proudly. "Ten points to Gryffindor." Remus smiled slightly and looked at James and Sirius, who were grinning quite knowingly now, and patting Remus on the back.  
  
"Now Mr. Pettigrew, it's your turn," said Professor Evander, turning to Peter.   
  
Peter seemed to cower in terror.   
  
"Honestly, Mr. Pettigrew, it's not going to be as bad as being attacked by a troll," joked the Professor.   
  
Peter cowered more.   
  
"Okay Mr. Pettigrew, this you should know if you had done the summer assignment I gave: if you were attacked by a dementor, what spell would you use to drive them back?" he asked.  
  
Peter's eyes widened and he searched through his brain for the answer. "It starts with a P...I don't know...um...a Pateroni?" he asked.  
  
"Close," he said. "Patronus, actually. And that's what we'll be learning about today, Patronuses."  
  
The professor turned and went to the board and the lecture began, but there was only about 15 minutes left, so not much was covered.   
  
Sariyah and Lily stayed afterwards to speak with the Professor about additional reading that they could do about Patronuses.  
  
James, Remus, Sirius and Peter were waiting outside the door in a huddle, talking in whispers. Sariyah and Lily came out of the room and knew that they had been up to something.  
  
"What are you guys whispering about?" asked Sariyah suspiciously.  
  
"You'll see," grinned James.   
  
"I don't like the 'you'll see', James," said Lily. James only smiled back.  
  
They began walking to the hall for lunch, brushing by people they hadn't seen for a few months. By coincidence, James ran into the entire Gryffindor quidditch team, who sucked him into their group and began talking to him about practices and such.  
  
"So," asked Sirius, as the rest of the group waited for James to finish. "Why did you stay behind in Evander's?"  
  
"We just had to ask him about some extra reading for the N.E.W.T.'s...he's offered to hold a study session for it after classes on Wednesdays," answered Lily.  
  
"I have a feeling that that's not the only reason you two stayed behind," asserted Sirius, smiling wickedly to Sariyah. "He's cute, isn't he?"  
  
"Shut up Sirius," Sariyah responded, turning slightly red. "He's an excellent professor."  
  
"And he's cute," laughed Sirius. Sariyah pushed him a little harder than she had meant to and he ran straight into the Hufflepuff quidditch captain, Lachlan Avery, and both of them landed in a heap on the floor.  
  
"Careful, Black," Lachlan said in his gruff voice, pushing Sirius off of his robes. "These are new." He stood up and ran his fingers through his light brown curls that had been covering his turquoise eyes, and stared evenly at Sirius.  
  
Sirius raised his hands in his defense and apologized.   
  
"It's okay, don't worry about it," Lachlan answered, clapping Sirius on the shoulder. He looked at Sariyah, then smiled. "Hi Sariyah."  
  
"Hi Lachlan," she smiled back, turning a light pink color again. She felt a slight clench in her stomach, and watched him walk away.  
  
Sirius watched him too, his eyes narrowed. "He's too cocky," he sneered. "And what kind of a name is Lachlan?"  
  
"It's a nice name," Sariyah smiled at Sirius. "And he's not cocky, you're cocky."  
  
"What? I'm-? Me? Cocky? Are you kidding me?" asked Sirius, acting flustered. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Plus me and Remus could beat that kid up any day."  
  
"I'm not beating anyone up, Sirius," answered Remus, who had been watching the whole scene play out with a look of amusement on his face.  
  
"Yes you are, Remus," said Sirius. "No one gets Sariyah except us."  
  
"Since when have you been so protective, dear Sirius?" asked Sariyah, chuckling at Sirius.  
  
"Since now," Remus answered quietly.   
  
"Oh, jeez, now it's both of you? I can handle my own self," laughed Sariyah, putting an arm around Sirius and another around Remus. "No need to be jealous, you two will always come first."  
  
"We're not jealous," argued Sirius. "It's just...well...oh for crying out loud, Lachlan Avery?"  
  
"Avery?" asked James, after the vulture-like Gryffindor team had let go of their seeker. "What about Avery? He's the new captain for Hufflepuff isn't he...we'll beat them," muttered James.  
  
"Don't worry about Avery, let's just go and eat," said Lily, ending the conversation. They trudged down the rest of the way to the hall, ate lunch, and split up again. Lily, Peter, and Sirius had Care of Magical Creatures, and Sariyah, Remus, and Frank Longbottom (who they had met up with at lunch) had Herbology. The long day had yet to draw to a close. 


End file.
